When I heard the complaint that a lawyer was banned to practice in front of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, my first reaction was that the Curia should not have raised this issue at this stage. However after reading the reasons why, my opinion changed. The Curia is right.
The main reason was given by the man who has just been beatified, Pope John Paul II. In his address to the Roman Rota on January 22, 2002 he said: “Legal workers in the civil field should avoid being personally involved in anything that could imply cooperation towards divorce.”
This was supplemented by the Apostolic Letter Justi Judicis (art. 6) of 1988 which states that “furthermore from the Album should be removed... those who agree with or are active in associations or movements which promote ways of thinking or acting that are contrary to the faith and the Catholic teachings about morals, or defend proposals and advice about civil order which go against the precepts of natural and Christian law”.
It is to be noted that this is not the first time that an advocate was not admitted to, or was excluded from the Album. Why is so much fuss being generated now? Furthermore, a claim that the Church will lose money if divorce is introduced is ludicrous.
Are we trying to use this to draw sympathy to the cause of divorce by sensational unfounded stories? The credibility of any person depends on the objective and subjective components which a person presents in a message. Credibility is based on the successful transfer of reliable information. What is missing from this debate is the truthful transfer of facts related to the issue.
Other than death, news on the divorce of a child is one of the most traumatic blows that grandparents can receive. This is even more so if grandchildren are involved. With divorce a relationship ends. It creates an uncertainty about the future of the direct parties concerned. It also creates an uncertainty about the future of the children. With the presence of uncertainty one cannot plan. With the current proposal on divorce this uncertainty can even last for a period of four years. Such uncertainty is not of any good to the parties concerned and it can have more serious effects on the dependents.
In a similar way to ending a professional assignment or a job, the termination of a relationship will create difficulty on most people. It will create feelings of grief, a loss of self esteem and a true internal worry on the people we care for.
The degree of distress is directly proportional to the length of the relationship, the people concerned (parents/grandparents/children/friends ...).
The advocation of divorce was originally perceived by some as a salvation to wives of alcoholics/husbands with troubled wives and an American tradition. On the same lines abortion and euthanasia are not even considered by the Maltese.
Of interest is the recent sermon by Richard Chartres in the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton. During his sermon he highlighted that every wedding is a royal wedding in the sense that every bride and groom are kings and queens of creating new life. He stated further that “as we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light.
“This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practice and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.”
Love, joy and peace can be the fruit of a marriage and not of divorce. They are the result of marriage and definitely not of divorce.
Our faith is based on a person and a story. Our faith is based on Jesus Christ and the story of his life, death and resurrection. In the teachings of Jesus Christ divorce, abortion and euthanasia, among other things, are not negotiable.